Celebrity Q & A

Why do we hear so little of Keanu Reeves' life off-screen?

The millionaire -- he earned $15 million apiece for The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, due Nov. 5 -- is notoriously tight- lipped about his private life. Reeves, 38, has had a series of girlfriends, most notably record executive Jennifer Syme, who miscarried their baby girl in 1999. The couple broke up soon after, and two years later Syme was killed in a car accident. More recently, Reeves has been linked with 30-year-old actress Claire Forlani and 31-year-old Amanda De Cadenet, former wife of Duran Duran bassist John Taylor.

The woman he seems closest to is his sister, 37-year-old Kim. The two have been devoted to each other ever since their drug-addicted Hawaiian-Chinese father, Sam, left the family when they were little. Their mother, a former British showgirl, raised them in Toronto, and they have had little contact with Sam, who spent two years in prison for drug possession.

Ten years ago, Keanu was devastated when Kim was diagnosed with leukemia. The disease went into remission, but when it resurfaced last year, he arranged for her to be flown to his location shoots so he could care for her. This has included trips to Australia, where he spent a year filming the Matrix sequels, and Paris for an as-yet-untitled romantic comedy co-starring Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton.